U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat was “never about fentanyl” but rather based on an intention to force Canada to join the United States, B.C. Premier David Eby said Monday.
Eby made the comments in response to an 11th-hour border deal to “pause” Trump’s threatened 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods.
“Even despite today’s agreement of the fact that this is hanging over our heads as Canadians, Mr. Trump’s, strategy around this is deliberate,” Eby said.
“There’s an intention to destroy Canada’s economy and to drive us into becoming the 51st state. I find it reprehensible. Inexplicable. And, and profoundly, disappointing. And it makes me and British Columbians and Canadians very angry.”
Fentanyl, the border and the delayed tariff threat
Trump has offered a shifting list of reasons why he planned to impose tariffs on Canada, frequently citing a flow of fentanyl and migrants across the border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show less than one per cent of all fentanyl seized comes from the United States’ northern border.
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Trump has also justified the tariffs by pointing to the U.S.’s trade deficit with Canada, and on Monday added the false claim that U.S. banks are not allowed to do business in Canada.
And he has repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada America’s 51st state, and has threatened to do so by using “economic force.”
Trudeau responds to Trump’s 51st state remark, calls it a ‘distraction’
On Monday Trump repeated his desire for Canada to become the 51st state in comments posted to social media by an official White House account.
While Eby suggested drug smuggling was a pretext for the tariffs, he said the province will “participate fully” in the federal government’s border agreement.
Under the deal, Canada will implement its $1.3 billion December border security plan, invest another $200 million to back “a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl,” appoint a “fentanyl czar,” list drug cartels as terrorist organizations, and launch a new Canada-U.S. joint strike force to combat fentanyl, organized crime and money laundering.
“I think there’s a significant role for us to play, we’ve done extensive work on these issues to coordinate and support the federal government in responding in a meaningful way to the realities of the issue here in British Columbia, whether it’s, the need for those inspections, in port police to be in place, whether it’s tracking the money through real estate, through luxury cars, through all the systems that we set up to make it easier for law enforcement to follow the money,” he said.
“We want them to use these systems. We want them to share that information with us.”
Trudeau on prospect of Canada becoming 51st U.S. state: ‘That’s not going to happen’
But he said the president’s actions have also changed Canadians’ relationship with the U.S. “for the foreseeable future.”
As a result, the province will stand ready to reinstate tariff retaliation, while working to break down interprovincial trade barriers and seeking other foreign export markets.
He said the province is also looking at accelerating key projects that are near “shovel-ready,” and will release a list of possible options on Tuesday.
With files from Sean Boynton and the Canadian Press
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